Windows Media Player won't go away

[Dave Logan]

Hi

I'm running Windows XP SP2. Starting this morning, Windows Media Player has
started loading as soon as Windows starts up; and if I close it, it loads
again a minute or so later. This goes on happening however many times I
close it. I have updated both Spybot Search & Destroy and Spyware Blaster
today, and run Spybot's "Check for Problems" but it didn't find anything,
and WMP is still doing its Jason impersonation. What could be causing this,
and how does one stop it from happening?

Dave

 

[Dave Logan]

I'm cross-posting this to microsoft.public.multimedia.windows.mediaplayer.


Hi

I'm running Windows XP SP2. Starting this morning, Windows Media Player has
started loading as soon as Windows starts up; and if I close it, it loads
again a minute or so later. This goes on happening however many times I
close it. I have updated both Spybot Search & Destroy and Spyware Blaster
today, and run Spybot's "Check for Problems" but it didn't find anything,
and WMP is still doing its Jason impersonation. What could be causing this,
and how does one stop it from happening?

Dave

 

[Dave Logan]

I've even tried going to "Set Program Access and Defaults", setting
RealPlayer as my default media player, and deselecting "Enable access to
this program" for WMP. I then rebooted and WMP immediately loaded!! In "Set
Program Access and Defaults", WMP is still disabled. yet it still won't go
away!!!! HELP!


| I'm cross-posting this to microsoft.public.multimedia.windows.mediaplayer.
|
| |
| Hi
|
| I'm running Windows XP SP2. Starting this morning, Windows Media Player
has
| started loading as soon as Windows starts up; and if I close it, it loads
| again a minute or so later. This goes on happening however many times I
| close it. I have updated both Spybot Search & Destroy and Spyware Blaster
| today, and run Spybot's "Check for Problems" but it didn't find anything,
| and WMP is still doing its Jason impersonation. What could be causing
this,
| and how does one stop it from happening?
|
| Dave
|
|

 

[Wesley Vogel]

If you're sure that you are free of malware, see if you can find where it's
starting from.

wmplayer.exe is version 8 or newer Windows Media Player.

mplayer2.exe is version 6.4.9.1125 Windows Media Player also included with
XP.

Open System Information...
Start | Run | Type: msinfo32 | Click OK |
Click the [+] next to Software Environment.
Click on Startup Programs.
Look in the right hand pane for any referrence to wmplayer.exe or
mplayer2.exe.


--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Alec S.]

Starting this morning, Windows Media Player has started loading as soon as Windows starts up;

This is easy to fix…

and if I close it, it loads again a minute or so later.
This goes on happening however many times I close it.

…but this is curious.


First you'll want to figure out what's doing it, then kick it's butt. Try this:

Get Filemon from sysinternals.com. Run it. Press Ctrl+L to open the filter dialog. Under Include enter "*mplay*.exe*" (without
the quotes). Under Exclude enter nothing (clear it), same for Highlight. Select all Log options (technically you don't need the
Writes, but keep it for now.) Click OK. Press Ctrl+E to begin logging. Close WMP if it's open. Wait, and watch. If (when) WMP
opens, see what is listed under the Process column. There should be a line somewhere that has some process opening the mediaplayer:
wmplayer.exe/mplayer2.exe will be listed under the Path column and the Request column will say Open, followed by a line with Read.

You should now know what process is causing WMP to open. What is it? We can now find a way to stop it.

WMP is still doing its Jason impersonation.

??? You mean Voorhees?

 

[Dave Logan]

Hi Wesley

| If you're sure that you are free of malware

All I can be sure of is that the latest versions of Spybot Search & Destroy
and Spyware Blaster don't find anything; and nor does the latest version of
McAfee AntiVirus.


| see if you can find where it's starting from.
|
| wmplayer.exe is version 8 or newer Windows Media Player.
|
| mplayer2.exe is version 6.4.9.1125 Windows Media Player also included with
| XP.

According to WMP's Help + About, I have version 9.00.00.3250


| Open System Information...
| Start | Run | Type: msinfo32 | Click OK |
| Click the [+] next to Software Environment.
| Click on Startup Programs.
| Look in the right hand pane for any referrence to wmplayer.exe or
| mplayer2.exe.

No, neither file is listed there. A lot of duplicate entries are though!
E.g. desktop.ini is listed 4 times, and ctfmon.exe is listed 3 times! Is
that normal? But there is definitely no wmplayer.exe or mplayer2.exe in that
list.

Dave


| In | Dave Logan <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
| > Hi
| >
| > I'm running Windows XP SP2. Starting this morning, Windows Media Player
| > has started loading as soon as Windows starts up; and if I close it, it
| > loads again a minute or so later. This goes on happening however many
| > times I close it. I have updated both Spybot Search & Destroy and
Spyware
| > Blaster today, and run Spybot's "Check for Problems" but it didn't find
| > anything, and WMP is still doing its Jason impersonation. What could be
| > causing this, and how does one stop it from happening?
| >
| > Dave
|

 

[Dave Logan]

I should add though that wmplayer.exe *is* listed in the right pane if I
click on Running Tasks.

Dave

| Hi Wesley
|
| || If you're sure that you are free of malware
|
| All I can be sure of is that the latest versions of Spybot Search &
Destroy
| and Spyware Blaster don't find anything; and nor does the latest version
of
| McAfee AntiVirus.
|
|
|| see if you can find where it's starting from.
||
|| wmplayer.exe is version 8 or newer Windows Media Player.
||
|| mplayer2.exe is version 6.4.9.1125 Windows Media Player also included
with
|| XP.
|
| According to WMP's Help + About, I have version 9.00.00.3250
|
|
|| Open System Information...
|| Start | Run | Type: msinfo32 | Click OK |
|| Click the [+] next to Software Environment.
|| Click on Startup Programs.
|| Look in the right hand pane for any referrence to wmplayer.exe or
|| mplayer2.exe.
|
| No, neither file is listed there. A lot of duplicate entries are though!
| E.g. desktop.ini is listed 4 times, and ctfmon.exe is listed 3 times! Is
| that normal? But there is definitely no wmplayer.exe or mplayer2.exe in
that
| list.
|
| Dave
|
|
|| In || Dave Logan <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
|| > Hi
|| >
|| > I'm running Windows XP SP2. Starting this morning, Windows Media Player
|| > has started loading as soon as Windows starts up; and if I close it, it
|| > loads again a minute or so later. This goes on happening however many
|| > times I close it. I have updated both Spybot Search & Destroy and
| Spyware
|| > Blaster today, and run Spybot's "Check for Problems" but it didn't find
|| > anything, and WMP is still doing its Jason impersonation. What could be
|| > causing this, and how does one stop it from happening?
|| >
|| > Dave
||
|
|

 

[Dave Logan]

Hi Alec

|
| > Starting this morning, Windows Media Player has started loading as soon
as Windows starts up;
|
| This is easy to fix.
|
| > and if I close it, it loads again a minute or so later.
| > This goes on happening however many times I close it.
|
| .but this is curious.
|
|
| First you'll want to figure out what's doing it, then kick it's butt. Try
this:
|
| Get Filemon from sysinternals.com. Run it. Press Ctrl+L to open the
filter dialog. Under Include enter "*mplay*.exe*" (without
| the quotes). Under Exclude enter nothing (clear it), same for Highlight.
Select all Log options (technically you don't need the
| Writes, but keep it for now.) Click OK. Press Ctrl+E to begin logging.
Close WMP if it's open. Wait, and watch. If (when) WMP
| opens, see what is listed under the Process column. There should be a
line somewhere that has some process opening the mediaplayer:
| wmplayer.exe/mplayer2.exe will be listed under the Path column and the
Request column will say Open, followed by a line with Read.

There are lots of them so I've uploaded a screen capture for you to look at
to:
http://tinyurl.com/esbw6


| You should now know what process is causing WMP to open. What is it? We
can now find a way to stop it.

Looks like McShield.exe might be to blame? Is that your reading (from the
screen capture?) Is that part of McAfee Anti-virus? Though if I close McAfee
AV, McShield.exe continues to run. And I can't find any reference to this
as a known problem on the McAfee website.


| > WMP is still doing its Jason impersonation.
|
| ??? You mean Voorhees?

Yes, as in "Jason, he's baaaaack!"

Dave

 

[Alec S.]

There are lots of them so I've uploaded a screen capture for you to look at
to:
http://tinyurl.com/esbw6

Okay let's see. You can ignore the one's where it says wmplayer.exe in the Process column, we only want to see processes which open
the wmplayer.exe file.

Mcafee is going to be in there since it accesses .EXE files (it wouldn't be a very good virus scanner if it didn't) so we can ignore
those as well. You can put "*mcshield*;*mcafee*" (without the quotes) in the Exclude line of the filter dialog to ignore those.

Prefetch is unimportant as well, add ";*prefetch*" to the end of the Exclude line.

Try that to narrow it down. You can save the report to a LOG file which you can attach to your post instead of using a screenshot.

| > WMP is still doing its Jason impersonation.
|
| ??? You mean Voorhees?

Yes, as in "Jason, he's baaaaack!"

 

[Dave Logan]

Hi again Alec


| Okay let's see. You can ignore the one's where it says wmplayer.exe in
the Process column, we only want to see processes which open
| the wmplayer.exe file.
|
| Mcafee is going to be in there since it accesses .EXE files (it wouldn't
be a very good virus scanner if it didn't) so we can ignore
| those as well. You can put "*mcshield*;*mcafee*" (without the quotes) in
the Exclude line of the filter dialog to ignore those.
|
| Prefetch is unimportant as well, add ";*prefetch*" to the end of the
Exclude line.
|
| Try that to narrow it down. You can save the report to a LOG file which
you can attach to your post instead of using a screenshot.

With those excludes in, nothing appears at all in the report when WMP opens
(although lots of things appear there when I close WMP). So it does look as
if McShield must really be the culprit? Should I uninstall and reinstall
VirusScan, do you think?

Dave

 

[Alec S.]

With those excludes in, nothing appears at all in the report when WMP opens
(although lots of things appear there when I close WMP). So it does look as
if McShield must really be the culprit? Should I uninstall and reinstall
VirusScan, do you think?

Did you recently install VirusScan? Did WMP start doing this soon after installing it? I highly doubt that Mcafee would be causing
WMP to start. What's probably happening is that for some reason, a media file is being opened. It's possible that Mcafee is
somehow running a media file which Windows "runs" by opening WMP. When WMP opens, is there a file loaded in it? Does it play
anything when it starts?


Take out the excludes and save a LOG file. I'll take a look through it to see if there's something else.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

E.g. desktop.ini is listed 4 times, and ctfmon.exe is listed 3 times! Is

that normal?

Desktop.ini files appear in folders that you customize or in Special folders
like Common Startup or Startup folders.

Common Startup folder is...
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Startup folder is...
C:\Documents and Settings\YourNameHere\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Don't worry about them, unless the open when you boot.

Get rid of ctfmon.exe.

ctfmon.exe = CTF Loader. Part of Microsoft Office. It activates
the Alternative User Input Text Input Processor (TIP) and the Microsoft
Office XP Language Bar.

When you run a Microsoft Office XP program, the file Ctfmon.exe (Ctfmon)
runs in the background, even after you quit all Office programs.

Ctfmon.exe monitors the active windows and provides text input service
support for speech recognition, handwriting recognition, keyboard,
translation, and other alternative user input technologies.

Can I Remove the Ctfmon.exe File?
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=282599#E0LB0ACAAA

Frequently asked questions about Ctfmon.exe
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/282599

HOW TO: Turn Off the Speech Recognition and Handwriting Recognition Features
in Office 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/823586

HOW TO: Turn Off the Speech Recognition and Handwriting Recognition Features
in Office XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326526

ctfmon.exe: This is your "Language Bar." Don't know what it is? I bet you do
not need it. Head to Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options ->
Languages TAB -> Details BUTTON -> Language Bar BUTTON (under
"Preferences") -> select the "Turn off advanced text services" check box.
This little detail will save you between 1.5 MB and 4 MB of RAM. If you are
using a "non-US" version, you may be required to install the English
localization to remove this "feature."
http://web.archive.org/web/20041125021602/www.blackviper.com/WinXP/strangeservice.htm

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Hi Wesley

If you're sure that you are free of malware

All I can be sure of is that the latest versions of Spybot Search &
Destroy and Spyware Blaster don't find anything; and nor does the latest
version of McAfee AntiVirus.

see if you can find where it's starting from.

wmplayer.exe is version 8 or newer Windows Media Player.

mplayer2.exe is version 6.4.9.1125 Windows Media Player also included
with XP.

According to WMP's Help + About, I have version 9.00.00.3250

Open System Information...
Start | Run | Type: msinfo32 | Click OK |
Click the [+] next to Software Environment.
Click on Startup Programs.
Look in the right hand pane for any referrence to wmplayer.exe or
mplayer2.exe.

No, neither file is listed there. A lot of duplicate entries are though!
E.g. desktop.ini is listed 4 times, and ctfmon.exe is listed 3 times! Is
that normal? But there is definitely no wmplayer.exe or mplayer2.exe in
that list.

Dave

In

 

[Dave Logan]

Hi Alec

The problem has mysteriously gone away on its own! Very strange. But to
answer your questions:

1) I installed VS several years ago, although I did recently run Live
Update, which I think did more than just update the DAT, because it asked me
to reboot.

2) When WMP loads there is no file loaded in it and it doesn't play
anything.

One possibility I've just thought of: below my (laptop) keyboard, just below
the mouse pad, there are some media controls (tiny play/pause, rewind,
buttons, etc.) which are linked (hardcoded, not software configurable) to
WMP. I've often accidentally knocked one of them when typing and launched
WMP - it's very annoying, but "often", in that context, means once in every
few days or even weeks; and accidentally knocking it is definitely *not*
what's been going on recently: it's been happening even if I've been sitting
at the other end of the room. But maybe one of those media buttons got
jammed down for a day and has now somehow unjammed itself? If that's the
cause I don't know what I can do if it happens again, because that section
of the keyboard isn't replaceable (unlike the section where the typing keys
are). :-(

Dave



| > With those excludes in, nothing appears at all in the report when WMP
opens
| > (although lots of things appear there when I close WMP). So it does look
as
| > if McShield must really be the culprit? Should I uninstall and reinstall
| > VirusScan, do you think?
|
| Did you recently install VirusScan? Did WMP start doing this soon after
installing it? I highly doubt that Mcafee would be causing
| WMP to start. What's probably happening is that for some reason, a media
file is being opened. It's possible that Mcafee is
| somehow running a media file which Windows "runs" by opening WMP. When
WMP opens, is there a file loaded in it? Does it play
| anything when it starts?
|
|
| Take out the excludes and save a LOG file. I'll take a look through it to
see if there's something else.
|
|
| --
| Alec S.
| news/alec->synetech/cjb/net
|
|

 

[Dave Logan]

Very helpful, thanks Wes.


|> E.g. desktop.ini is listed 4 times, and ctfmon.exe is listed 3 times! Is
| > that normal?
|
| Desktop.ini files appear in folders that you customize or in Special
folders
| like Common Startup or Startup folders.
|
| Common Startup folder is...
| C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
|
| Startup folder is...
| C:\Documents and Settings\YourNameHere\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
|
| Don't worry about them, unless the open when you boot.
|
| Get rid of ctfmon.exe.
|
| ctfmon.exe = CTF Loader. Part of Microsoft Office. It activates
| the Alternative User Input Text Input Processor (TIP) and the Microsoft
| Office XP Language Bar.
|
| When you run a Microsoft Office XP program, the file Ctfmon.exe (Ctfmon)
| runs in the background, even after you quit all Office programs.
|
| Ctfmon.exe monitors the active windows and provides text input service
| support for speech recognition, handwriting recognition, keyboard,
| translation, and other alternative user input technologies.
|
| Can I Remove the Ctfmon.exe File?
| http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=282599#E0LB0ACAAA
|
| Frequently asked questions about Ctfmon.exe
| http://support.microsoft.com/kb/282599
|
| HOW TO: Turn Off the Speech Recognition and Handwriting Recognition
Features
| in Office 2003
| http://support.microsoft.com/kb/823586
|
| HOW TO: Turn Off the Speech Recognition and Handwriting Recognition
Features
| in Office XP
| http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326526
|
| ctfmon.exe: This is your "Language Bar." Don't know what it is? I bet you
do
| not need it. Head to Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options ->
| Languages TAB -> Details BUTTON -> Language Bar BUTTON (under
| "Preferences") -> select the "Turn off advanced text services" check box.
| This little detail will save you between 1.5 MB and 4 MB of RAM. If you
are
| using a "non-US" version, you may be required to install the English
| localization to remove this "feature."
|
http://web.archive.org/web/20041125021602/www.blackviper.com/WinXP/strangeservice.htm
|
| --
| Hope this helps. Let us know.
|
| Wes
| MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
|
| In | Dave Logan <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
| > Hi Wesley
| >
| > | >> If you're sure that you are free of malware
| >
| > All I can be sure of is that the latest versions of Spybot Search &
| > Destroy and Spyware Blaster don't find anything; and nor does the latest
| > version of McAfee AntiVirus.
| >
| >
| >> see if you can find where it's starting from.
| >>
| >> wmplayer.exe is version 8 or newer Windows Media Player.
| >>
| >> mplayer2.exe is version 6.4.9.1125 Windows Media Player also included
| >> with XP.
| >
| > According to WMP's Help + About, I have version 9.00.00.3250
| >
| >
| >> Open System Information...
| >> Start | Run | Type: msinfo32 | Click OK |
| >> Click the [+] next to Software Environment.
| >> Click on Startup Programs.
| >> Look in the right hand pane for any referrence to wmplayer.exe or
| >> mplayer2.exe.
| >
| > No, neither file is listed there. A lot of duplicate entries are though!
| > E.g. desktop.ini is listed 4 times, and ctfmon.exe is listed 3 times! Is
| > that normal? But there is definitely no wmplayer.exe or mplayer2.exe in
| > that list.
| >
| > Dave
| >
| >
| >> In | >> Dave Logan <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
| >>> Hi
| >>>
| >>> I'm running Windows XP SP2. Starting this morning, Windows Media
Player
| >>> has started loading as soon as Windows starts up; and if I close it,
it
| >>> loads again a minute or so later. This goes on happening however many
| >>> times I close it. I have updated both Spybot Search & Destroy and
| >>> Spyware Blaster today, and run Spybot's "Check for Problems" but it
| >>> didn't find anything, and WMP is still doing its Jason impersonation.
| >>> What could be causing this, and how does one stop it from happening?
| >>>
| >>> Dave
|

 

[Alec S.]

Hi Alec

The problem has mysteriously gone away on its own! Very strange.

That's good, and bad. It's good because it's not doing it anymore, it's bad because intermittent problems are awful, they get fixed
without their cause being known.

1) I installed VS several years ago, although I did recently run Live
Update, which I think did more than just update the DAT, because it asked me
to reboot.

Not likely. The reboot was probably just to allow it to update a file it was using (like the Updater itself).

2) When WMP loads there is no file loaded in it and it doesn't play
anything.

One possibility I've just thought of: below my (laptop) keyboard, just below
the mouse pad, there are some media controls (tiny play/pause, rewind,
buttons, etc.) which are linked (hardcoded, not software configurable) to
WMP. I've often accidentally knocked one of them when typing and launched
WMP - it's very annoying, but "often", in that context, means once in every
few days or even weeks; and accidentally knocking it is definitely *not*
what's been going on recently: it's been happening even if I've been sitting
at the other end of the room. But maybe one of those media buttons got
jammed down for a day and has now somehow unjammed itself? If that's the
cause I don't know what I can do if it happens again, because that section
of the keyboard isn't replaceable (unlike the section where the typing keys
are). :-(

That may very well be the case. You can test it by using another media player (XMPlay is very good). Just associate CD audio files
(.CDA) with the other media player and try the keys; when those keys are pressed, Explorer launches whichever media player is used
to play audio CDs. This would have been a particularly determining test if the problem was still occurring, try it if it happens
again.

As for the keys being jammed, it happens. The reset button on my system's case is pretty jammed. :-o The right-shift key also
keeps binding when I press it (I'm starting to train to use the left-shift key.) One thing you could try to fix it is to keep
pressing the key, just keep mashing it over and over—preferably when the system is off. This way, it will loosen the key and
dislodge anything that may have been making it stick. A better solution is to open it if you can and clean it out. You could also
use a compressed air canister to blast anything out of it.

Also, it could have been triggering the key not because it was stuck, but because it was dirty. If there is some grease, oil, dirt,
etc. in the keyboard, it could get between the two conductive layers and cause it to short, triggering a keypress. In that case,
it's a good idea to clean it if at all possible.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Been more helpful if this sentence had read:

Don't worry about them, unless THEY open when you boot.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Very helpful, thanks Wes.

Desktop.ini files appear in folders that you customize or in Special
folders like Common Startup or Startup folders.

Common Startup folder is...
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Startup folder is...
C:\Documents and Settings\YourNameHere\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Don't worry about them, unless the open when you boot.

Get rid of ctfmon.exe.

ctfmon.exe = CTF Loader. Part of Microsoft Office. It activates
the Alternative User Input Text Input Processor (TIP) and the Microsoft
Office XP Language Bar.

When you run a Microsoft Office XP program, the file Ctfmon.exe (Ctfmon)
runs in the background, even after you quit all Office programs.

Ctfmon.exe monitors the active windows and provides text input service
support for speech recognition, handwriting recognition, keyboard,
translation, and other alternative user input technologies.

Can I Remove the Ctfmon.exe File?
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=282599#E0LB0ACAAA

Frequently asked questions about Ctfmon.exe
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/282599

HOW TO: Turn Off the Speech Recognition and Handwriting Recognition
Features in Office 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/823586

HOW TO: Turn Off the Speech Recognition and Handwriting Recognition
Features in Office XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326526

ctfmon.exe: This is your "Language Bar." Don't know what it is? I bet
you do not need it. Head to Control Panel -> Regional and Language
Options -> Languages TAB -> Details BUTTON -> Language Bar BUTTON (under
"Preferences") -> select the "Turn off advanced text services" check box.
This little detail will save you between 1.5 MB and 4 MB of RAM. If you
are using a "non-US" version, you may be required to install the English
localization to remove this "feature."

http://web.archive.org/web/20041125021602/www.blackviper.com/WinXP/strangeservice.htm

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Hi Wesley

If you're sure that you are free of malware

All I can be sure of is that the latest versions of Spybot Search &
Destroy and Spyware Blaster don't find anything; and nor does the latest
version of McAfee AntiVirus.


see if you can find where it's starting from.

wmplayer.exe is version 8 or newer Windows Media Player.

mplayer2.exe is version 6.4.9.1125 Windows Media Player also included
with XP.

According to WMP's Help + About, I have version 9.00.00.3250


Open System Information...
Start | Run | Type: msinfo32 | Click OK |
Click the [+] next to Software Environment.
Click on Startup Programs.
Look in the right hand pane for any referrence to wmplayer.exe or
mplayer2.exe.

No, neither file is listed there. A lot of duplicate entries are though!
E.g. desktop.ini is listed 4 times, and ctfmon.exe is listed 3 times! Is
that normal? But there is definitely no wmplayer.exe or mplayer2.exe in
that list.

Dave


In Dave Logan <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
Hi

I'm running Windows XP SP2. Starting this morning, Windows Media
Player has started loading as soon as Windows starts up; and if I
close it, it loads again a minute or so later. This goes on happening
however many times I close it. I have updated both Spybot Search &
Destroy and Spyware Blaster today, and run Spybot's "Check for
Problems" but it didn't find anything, and WMP is still doing its
Jason impersonation. What could be causing this, and how does one
stop it from happening?

Dave

 

[Dave Logan]

Hi Alec


| That may very well be the case. You can test it by using another media
player (XMPlay is very good). Just associate CD audio files
| (.CDA) with the other media player and try the keys; when those keys are
pressed, Explorer launches whichever media player is used
| to play audio CDs.

Unfortunately the media buttons on my laptop are hard-coded to WMP, *not* to
the app that is associated in Windows with audio files. My default media
player at the moment is Real, but the media buttons still launch WMP.


| As for the keys being jammed, it happens. The reset button on my system's
case is pretty jammed. :-o The right-shift key also
| keeps binding when I press it (I'm starting to train to use the left-shift
key.) One thing you could try to fix it is to keep
| pressing the key, just keep mashing it over and over-preferably when the
system is off. This way, it will loosen the key and
| dislodge anything that may have been making it stick. A better solution
is to open it if you can and clean it out. You could also
| use a compressed air canister to blast anything out of it.
|
| Also, it could have been triggering the key not because it was stuck, but
because it was dirty. If there is some grease, oil, dirt,
| etc. in the keyboard, it could get between the two conductive layers and
cause it to short, triggering a keypress. In that case,
| it's a good idea to clean it if at all possible.

If the problem comes back I'll try those things, thanks.

By the way (I'll post this as a new topic if you prefer but just in case you
happen to know the answer off the top of your head I thought I'd ask this
here):

I've just found a log file in my root (C:\) called CLDMA.LOG and it's
6.79GB!!!! A Google search says it's a PowerDVD diagnostics file, although
I've never intentionally run PowerDVD diagnostics. Any idea why it would be
so huge, whether it's safe to just delete it, and how to stop my hard disk
from being eaten up in this way again?

Dave

 

[Alec S.]

Unfortunately the media buttons on my laptop are hard-coded to WMP, *not* to
the app that is associated in Windows with audio files. My default media
player at the moment is Real, but the media buttons still launch WMP.

That's strange. Are you sure? The media buttons should be coded to the mediaplayer that plays AUDIO CDS, (.CDA) files. I suspect
that WMP is still the CD player (Tools->Options->FileTypes->CDAudioTrack). You can be sure by doing this (when you're not using
your system for anything else, eg just before you shut down for the day):

Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to bring up the Task Manager
Sort the processes by process name
Kill off ALL instances explorer.exe
Try the buttons, they should not work anymore
Run WMP (File->NewTask->wmplayer.exe)
Load an audio file into WMP
Try using the media buttons to play/stop/etc.

If your media buttons are like normal buttons, they are handled by Windows Explorer (the shell); if it's not running, they do
nothing. In that case the media player button launches the CDA player. Use Real's file association function to associate it with
CD tracks/CDA files. Pushing the media player button should now send DDE commands to Real.

I've just found a log file in my root (C:\) called CLDMA.LOG and it's
6.79GB!!!! A Google search says it's a PowerDVD diagnostics file, although
I've never intentionally run PowerDVD diagnostics. Any idea why it would be
so huge, whether it's safe to just delete it, and how to stop my hard disk
from being eaten up in this way again?

Wooooooooooweeeeeee! Thas' a big ol' log file. Seriously, that's huge. I've seen log files get really large before and
whenever their sizes get out of control like that, it's because the program generating them is logging too much and/or stuck. Take
a look inside the log file and I'll bet you'll see one line repeated a million times. That's usually an indicator that either the
program is logging something it shouldn't or that there's something wrong and the program is logging it instead of reporting it to
the user. Either way, it's not good programming practice. This kind of logging also has an impact on performance (I had this
problem with the game IGI2.) You'll want to use HIEW32 to view the log file since any text editor will try to load the file before
showing it and at that size, it will invariably just crash your system.

Use HIEW32 to take a look inside it. If it is indeed a simply text log (it should be pretty easy to identify), then it's safe to
just delete it.

You're right about the CyberLink, it seems others have had massive log files by that name which were traced to CyberLink. I'm not
sure how to disable it because I don't have it, but there should be an option. Check the settings/options and look for some entry
about logs/error/debug. Also, check for the filename itself (cldma.log) in the program's options. If you come up empty, try
looking for the filename in any INI files that the program uses, or in it's registry keys.

If you can't find a way to disable the log file, I can install it (I think my video card came with a copy) and take a look.

 

[Lon Diffenderfer]

Dave,

You are not alone. I am having exactly the problem that you mention.
Microsoft has made WMP 11 persistent for some reason. I tried everything I
could to close down the program including the installation of PRCView to
locate and kill all threads relating to the program, but no joy.

Obviously, Microsoft does not want us shutting down WMP. If I do not find a
solution for killing this program when I wish, then I will kill it for
good - by uninstalling it.

Regards,
Lon

 

[zachd [ms]]

That specifically means that something is keeping WMP open and preventing it
from closing. Some other application or process is preventing it from
closing.

What good would it do "Microsoft" to have WMP not shut down? That doesn't
even make sense. =)